Naruto: The Witcher
by Cawthorne
Summary: Naruto is a Witcher's apprentice living in a stronghold in the Land of Fire. He, together with other orphans and outcasts, is a person trained from youth to be a monster-hunter for hire. But monsters aren't the only ones threatening the world as we know it. (Major AU, accidental NaruHina. Will pick it up again when I've regained motivation.)
1. Prologue I

**Pre author note thingie:**

While this isn't listed as a crossover, it draws heavily from the series called 'The Witcher'. The reason I didn't list it as a crossover, is that the only influence is the addition of Witchers and monsters. The universe and the characters are the same as always. One doesn't need to know about Witchers beforehand, as I'll explain along the way.

I also feel like mentioning that some plot-points are subject to change. Though this first chapter doesn't actually involve anything too important, and this is mostly regarding later chapters.

That being said, enjoy! And here's a disclaimer for anyone that cares.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, and the Witchers are in no way my own idea. They both belong to their respective owners.

* * *

 **Prologue: Home of the Witchers I**

* * *

Naruto groaned lightly as sunlight was hitting his closed eyelids. Yawning loudly, he was just about to doze off again, as something hit him in the head. Bolting up from his bed, he grabbed the knife he had prepared under his pillow, scanning the room for the intruder. What entered his sight was a tall white-haired sage with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Naruto grinned sheepily, putting down the knife on the table next to him.

"Sorry, Ero-sennin." he said with a smirk, though the sage did nothing to change his posture.

"What did I tell you about rising early? Hell, your roommates are already up and running." Jiraiya said, tapping his foot against the wooden floor. Naruto looked around the room. The sunlight that came through the open shutters easily illuminated the entire circular room, though there were also lit candles on shelves and tables.

The nine other beds situated around the room were all empty, some of them neatly cleaned while others were untidy with crumpled sheets. Weapon racks were empty and shoes were missing. A mild breeze flowed through the open windows, making the curtains flutter lightly. Naruto picked up the thing that had hit him in the head, a wooden shoe, rubbing his head absentmindedly.

"That's still no excuse for the rude awakening!" he exclaimed at Jiraiya. The sage simply face-palmed, turning around and walking towards the door. Naruto hurled the shoe back at his sensei, but the sage caught it without so much as flinching or turning his head.

"Brat, you better learn that a surprise attack like that is not going to hit me." he stated, before closing the door behind himself. Naruto sighed and flopped back on his back, hitting the bed with a 'thump'. The beds were hardly soft, but they were still nicer than sleeping on the ground.

Naruto turned his head to the right, staring at his own two swords laying on a weapons rack. They were both pretty ordinary training swords. One of them was made of steel, and had a straight and plain guard. The edge looked a bit blunt after not having been sharpened in a while (something else that would often earn him a scolding), but he wasn't expecting to fight anyone seriously in the near future. They rarely let the apprentices out of the stronghold before they had completed the Trial of the Grasses, after all.

The other sword was almost as plain, though its blade had a different, silvery gleam to it. The guard was tilted downwards towards the hand of the wielder, different from its straight-guarded companion. This blade had been sharpened and cared for much more than the other, though it still showed signs of heavy wear.

Naruto reluctantly sat up and found his gear in a large chest situated at the foot-end of the bed. He grabbed a leather tunic and pulled it over his head, together with some armguards and trousers. At last he pulled on a sturdy leather vest and his leather shoes. It was the standard uniform of all the apprentices, but Naruto hated it. In his opinion, it looked too plain.

Making sure the armguards were secured properly an extra time, he stood up from his bed and took the two swords from their rack, sheathing them with the steel sword as the uppermost one, and the silver sword as the lower one, both of them being placed parallel to each other in a slant from his right shoulder to left hip.

Naruto looked around the lit room an extra time, before heading for the door.

~O0o0O~

Naruto finally saw the skies as he opened the two large wooden doors leading to the courtyard. Annoyed grunts mixed in with "hyaa!"'s could be heard in the background, as other apprentices were slashing away at hay-filled training dummies. Few were going through stances on poles lined up on the edge of the walls while blindfolded.

Kakashi, who was standing in the middle of the open yard, turned around, staring expectantly at Naruto. He tilted his head at the newly arrived student, his eyes staring directly into Naruto's. The blonde gulped loudly.

"I see someone decided to arrive late again." Kakashi noted in a neutral manner. "I would say that it won't happen again, but knowing you, that would be a lie." He smirked at Naruto with his two visible eyes, as his mouth was hidden behind a mask. Naruto didn't trust the friendly visage for a moment.

"So.. Would you mind getting something for me? I must have misplaced it." Kakashi said, still smiling. Naruto sighed. _Here it comes…_

"As far as I remember, it was at the top of that tower." Kakashi said before pointing at the tallest tower. The tower was flat at the top, leaving space for archers in case the stronghold would ever come under attack. "Chop chop! Oh, and you can't use the stairs."

Naruto groaned, but he knew that there was no use in complaining. The other students had been explicitly told that they weren't allowed to wake Naruto in the morning if he overslept. He was already the weakest link in the group of ten, but it wasn't like he could just "drop out". Chances were, that he would simply die in a battle against a group of ghouls or something like that. At least that was what everyone told him.

He ran towards the tall circular tower, with wines growing up the walls, throwing away unnecessary thoughts. Climbing the tower was no easy task, even with wines to help. It required a lot of endurance. Thankfully, that was the one thing Naruto was good at. Not giving up.

He grabbed the low-hanging wines firmly, lifting his foot and placing it against the wall. He repeated the motion. The noises of the training field were slowly left behind as he repeated the motion again and again. And again. He reached up, and his foot slipped. A pebble came crashing to the ground as Naruto observed the twenty meters that had built up below him. He gulped loudly before securing his foot again and looking upwards, determined to avoid the fate of that pebble.

He finally grabbed the edge of the tower, as he pulled himself up, having built up quite a sweat. He sat down for a moment before looking around for the thing that Kakashi had supposedly "misplaced". A book was lying at the middle of the tower, beckoning Naruto to take it.

He walked over and examined it for a moment, before realising it was an old leather-bound bestiary. He glanced at the trapdoor leading down to the stairs, before remembering Kakashi's words. _You can't use the stairs._

Sighing deeply, he rested for a moment before flinging himself over the edge, grabbing the vines with one hand while the other held the thick book. _At least I'm not going up…_ he thought, as he climbed down with one hand.

~O0o0O~

Naruto stood in front of Kakashi, panting, holding forth the leather-bound bestiary.

"Here.. Kakashi.. Sensei.." he muttered, as said person took the bestiary and examined it. Seemingly content, he nodded. "Very well, I suppose that was enough for one day. Catch your breath while I get everyone else." Kakashi spoke, before turning around and walking away.

Naruto sat down on the ground, as there was no place designed for sitting in the nearby vicinity. Kakashi returned with the rest of the nine students after ten minutes or so, Naruto standing up like nothing had happened. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, wondering if the punishment had not been harsh enough.

"So!.. Everyone, we will be duelling. Seeing as we're a nice equal number, you will pair together two and two. If anyone doesn't have a partner, come to me." Kakashi exclaimed, hands folded in front of him as he spoke. The apprentices quickly paired up, as ordered, leaving Naruto alone beside Kakashi. He looked around for the other person without a partner, until he saw a short, black-haired girl approach them.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" he exclaimed, as Hinata blushed lightly. Being a shy girl, Hinata rarely had a parter, so the two often ended up being paired together. Naruto knew that she was a lot better than him, but he merely saw it as a challenge.

"Everyone ready?" Kakashi spoke up. "Yes? Good. Make sure you're all standing far enough away for each other. We don't want any casualties. Signs are allowed, but make sure you regulate the intensity. Go!"

Naruto pulled out the steel sword, placing himself in a defensive position with his sword slanted and knees bent. Hinata placed herself in a similar position, though hers had the sword in a vertical position, pointed towards Naruto. The two stared at each other for mere fractions of a second, both eyes filled with determination.

The silence was suddenly broken.

Hinata charged forwards with her sword poised as a rapier, as Naruto set into motion, rolling to the side. Hinata quickly caught the motion, turning around and sending her sword towards Naruto in an arc. Naruto barely managed to lift his sword to a horizontal position, the two blades making sparks as Naruto reinforced his position by supporting the flat side of the sword with his other hand. Slanting his sword slightly, he made Hinata's sword slide down the flat side, her posture broken.

Naruto, however, did not go on the offensive, instead pulling back to avoid staying on his knees. Hinata regained her balance, her sword pointed at Naruto, as Hinata prepared for yet another heavy swing. Naruto started a counter-swing that would knock the sword off its course, but just as Hinata began the motion she changed the angle, making it so that Naruto's sword was the one being repelled.

His eyes widened lightly in surprise, as Hinata continued her onslaught. A swing aimed at his abdomen almost grazed the leather armour. Hinata's eyes widened as she dropped her sword.

"A-are.. Are you okay?!" she asked with her hands covering her mouth. Naruto was just about to counter-attack as he saw the girl drop her sword. Stopping the motion, he lowered his sword and checked his abdomen to make sure.

"Uhh.. Yeah, I don't think you actually hit." he said, tilting his head at the girl. She looked relieved for a moment. "S-sorry.." she muttered as she picked her sword up from the ground, this time standing in a defensive position. Naruto nodded once, though he really didn't understand the girl.

This time, Naruto went on the offensive. Running forwards with a 'hyaah!', he made a slanted arc from the bottom right. Hinata skilfully stepped back, and used her sword to hit Naruto's, giving it more power and throwing his balance off. She swung her sword overhead, and down from the left, right as Naruto turned around to block. The two swords interlocked as both breathed heavily. Hinata removed her right hand from the sword, momentarily giving Naruto the advantage, before shouting "Aard!"

Naruto was pushed back by a heavy force of air staggering lightly, though he managed to stay on his feet. Hinata charged forwards, both hands on the grip again, her sword again pointed in a rapier-like manner. Naruto desperately attempted to blow the sword off course, though he only managed to get his guard caught in Hinata's blade.

She almost effortlessly flung the blade to the side, and pointed the tip of the sharpened steel sword against Naruto's throat. He gulped loudly before raising his arms in surrender. Hinata let out a loud gasp of exhaustion as she spun her sword around and placed it in its sheath. Naruto went to get his own sword, and did the same.

"Good fight, Hinata!" he said with a smirk, as Hinata continued to grasp for breath. She nodded with a smile, averting her eyes from his. "Y-yes.. You have improved, N-Naruto-kun." she stuttered. Naruto's eyes gleamed at the compliment, as Hinata was one of the few who complimented him. While he was bad at everything else, he was at least progressing in sword fighting.

"L-let's eat lunch.." she proposed, walking towards the dining hall. Naruto obediently followed behind, as the two went to check out the mundane menu of the day.

* * *

 **After note:**

So that was the first chapter. What is Aard, you may ask? Why two swords? Well, I'll work out some way to explain it in the next chapter. And I might even expand this chapter without uploading a new one. If that is the case, I'll write it at the start of the next chapter, so that eventual followers won't miss the added part.

Review! That was the reason I uploaded this in the first instance.


	2. Prologue II

Second part, here we go! At first, I was going to end the prologue here. But I decided against it, meaning that there will be a third chapter in this "introduction arc".

I also updated the style of both chapters to make them more stylish.

Enjoy~

* * *

 **Prologue: Home of the Witchers II**

* * *

Hinata gnawed absent-mindedly at some dry bread, every once in a while staring off into the distant mountains. The fortress that was the home of these Witchers was surrounded by far-reaching mountains, neatly enveloping the hidden keep. Several birds of prey were flying overhead, cawing loudly, before disappearing behind tall trees. Naruto, who had already finished his bread, was eating gruel at a fast pace. Though the food couldn't be said to be tasty, they had learned to live with it. Naruto paused for a moment, looking thoughtfully at Hinata.

"Uhm.. Hinata-chan.. Would you mind helping me with Aard?"

Hinata chewed for a moment before finally looking at him. "Didn't.. Didn't Jiraiya-sama teach you?.." she asked with uncertainty, tilting her head lightly to the side. Naruto grinned slyly. "Weeell, you see..." he mumbled, before finally answering; "I don't get it."

Hinata raised her eyebrows. "Don't get it? What don't you get? If you don't mind me asking..." She had already forgotten about the bread in her hands as she was waiting for the answer. Naruto scratched the back of his neck with a hint of embarrassment. "I.. Wasn't listening when he lectured us about signs. I figured it was just another of his boring history lessons."

Hinata looked up at the sun for a moment before nodding. "I-I think the lower training grounds should be empty.. We still have a while before the break is over."

"Thanks Hinata-chan! You're the best." Naruto exclaimed with a grin, quickly eating up the rest of his lunch, and placing the bowl on the ground, before wandering off. Hinata sighed deeply before hurrying after him, her cheeks slightly red. Or maybe it was just the cold wind? The bread had been carelessly thrown next to the wooden bowl. Someone else was going to have to clean up after them.

~O0o0O~

The lower training ground was a small grassy area surrounded by sturdy brick walls reaching as far as ten metres into the air. Those were the inner walls of the walls protecting the stronghold from outsiders like monsters and bandits. Not that either were stupid enough to approach, but incidents happened every once in a while. Hinata placed herself in the middle of the grassy field, three training dummies by the far wall behind her.

"To start with the basics.." she started, as Naruto sat down in the grass. Looking around to make sure they were alone, she sat down as well, picking up a stick from the ground next to her. "Signs. They're magical spells that doesn't require an incantation." she said, as if copying the line from a textbook. "Signs are cast using specific hand-gestures. Witchers prefer one-handed weapons to be able to cast signs with the other.." she paused for a bit before she started drawing five signs in the dirt in front of her. Two of them were slightly different triangles, two of them were upside-down triangles, and the last one was a combination of two triangles in an hourglass-like shape.

Naruto pondered a bit, taking in the knowledge. "Soo.. Magic?" he blurted out, earning a sigh from Hinata. "Well.. Yes.. Let's just stick with that.." Naruto's eyes widened. "Cool! So how do you do it?"

Hinata lifted her right hand in front of him. "You place your fingers.." she said, bending her middle and pinky finger towards her palm while keeping the other two straight. "Like this."

Naruto mimicked her gesture with his right hand, grunting annoyedly when he saw that he couldn't get his pinky to his palm at all. Using his left hand to force the finger into place, he looked back at Hinata. "Like this?"

Hinata smirked slyly. "Y-Yeah, but only with one hand." Naruto sighed meekly, dropping backwards onto the grass. His brow was furrowed with concentration as he tried desperately and futilely to bend his fingers to his will. Hinata blushed lightly, watching his display of stubbornness, as she continued;

"After that, you just need to know what you want the sign to do, and concentrate.."

Naruto looked up for a moment, before dropping back down. "I'll get back to you on that when I've got this down. Now work, damnit.. Ouch! My fingers are cramping.." Hinata sent worried glances at the blonde, though it seemed like the worry was unfounded. She barely noticed the sun moving past midday.

~O0o0O~

The blonde yawned loudly, earning an annoyed look from Jiraiya. "Not only are you late, but you're not paying attention. Do you _want_ some nekker to kill you because you thought it was a necrophage instead of an ogroid?" he chided, not earning any noticeable reaction from Naruto. Hinata glanced worriedly at the blonde, though most of the other students were looking the other way, or twiddling their thumbs annoyedly.

"I don't care, 'ttebayo. I'll kill it no matter what it is!" he suddenly exclaimed, a clenched fist raised in front of his chest as if to support his statement. Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his temples as he thought of a way to convey a message to his thick-headed student.

"Listen. Brat. Now you're going to read the chapter on necrophages and ways to dispose of them, and you might have a fighting chance. I'll be expecting all of you to take notes so that you don't forget this stuff. Now, begin! I'll just... Close my eyes for a bit.." Jiraiya mumbled as he slowly snoozed off. Naruto started to read the first couple of lines..

 _Necrophages are creatures that devour and live off of living and dead corpses alike. Many of them resemble humans and nonhumans, though only at a fleeting glance. Their bodily odors, resembling that of rotting flesh, and their inhuman screeches are enough to throw off any man with remaining doubts. However, one must approach these creatures with extreme caution, as they often travel in groups, and have an insatiable hunger for human flesh._

Naruto sighed deeply and put the heavy book down. He noticed Jiraiya leaned backwards in his chair, staring intently at the heavily breathing sage.

He leaned towards Hinata, whispering. "Is this guy for real? I mean, is he really asleep?"

Hinata pondered for a moment, looking up from her book, before nodding. "Y-yeah.. I think so.." she whispered back with a timid voice. Naruto grinned evilly, shutting his book closed.

"Come on! Let's sneak out. It'll be fun!" he encouraged her, as she looked around at the other eight students. They didn't seem to mind the couple at all, instead being focused on their studies. "A-are you sure?.. I mean, what happens if they find out and-.."

She didn't get to say any more before Naruto clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shh! Don't be so loud." he whispered, as Hinata got slightly red cheeks. In the back of her mind, she thanked whatever deities for not fainting on the spot.

After a while, she nodded meekly. She just hoped they wouldn't end up in trouble. Naruto's list of mischief hardly had to grow any longer.

Naruto removed his hand, and Hinata silently closed her book, sending a couple of wary glances at the looming figure of the lightly snoring Jiraiya. A few of the other apprentices looked up from their books to send questioning glances at Hinata, though they ignored the blonde completely. Hinata simply smiled shyly at them before sneaking towards the window sill - Naruto already halfway out the window.

Hinata poked the head out the window to see Naruto already climbing thick green wines downwards. With a light gulp, she grabbed onto the wines growing on the right-hand side of the window, and steadied her feet against the sturdy plant. It didn't give way at all, which was kind of reassuring, but the fast ground far beneath her feet felt nauseating and intimidating. At least for the dark-haired Witcher's apprentice. The blonde didn't seem to mind at all.

With a deep heave for air, Hinata began her slow descent. As the ground moved closer, she increased her pace, until the earth was a simple jump away. Letting go of the plant, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, leaning against the wall just before she lost balance.

Naruto sent a mildly worried glance at her, but a single nod was enough to assure him of her wellbeing. After catching their breaths for a moment, Naruto spoke up.

"So! Now that we got out of that dusty old room, let's have some fun!"

"L-like what?" Hinata asked, looking up at the window they had crawled out of. It seemed awfully high from her current vantage point.

Naruto pondered for a moment, looking around at the courtyard. "What about.." he began, looking towards the forest on the east side of the keep. "What about we take a look at the forest?" he asked, regarding Hinata with an aura of rare seriousness.

At first, Hinata felt like objecting. They weren't allowed out of the keep for obvious reasons. Though it did leave her intrigued. What exactly was out there, in the wilds they were supposed to travel around someday?

Steeling her resolve, Hinata nodded. "Let's." she said, not stuttering for once. Naruto grinned a toothy grin, running towards the eastern of the two gates keeping the Witchers in, and the monsters out..

~O0o0O~

Naruto darted between trees, followed by a slightly winded Hinata. It hadn't been difficult to get out of the fortress at all. Much less with all the other Witchers busy elsewhere.

A gentle breeze was running through the treetops, the rustling of leaves sounding like a constant whisper. Old and undisturbed pines littered the area, great trunks obstructing their view. The ground was mossy and mostly undisturbed - save for the few animal paths and footprints, most of them leading away from the Witcher fortress.

Naruto stopped for a moment, waiting for Hinata to catch up. She was looking around in awe, considering the existence of countless trees that had been alive longer than herself or any of the Witchers.

Two steep cliffs hit each other at their peaks, making a natural archway. The two climbed down to the natural pass before following a narrow path, that slowly grew to be a rocky tunnel. The air grew steadily colder as the natural tunnel became more cave-like. The two stopped abruptly as they accidentally awakened some bats along the way, though they quickly turned out to be harmless.

A few more minutes of dungeoneering, and the two saw an opening ahead. While it initially opened up the sky, the walls were still steep enough to define a clear path. Green plants and shrubberies filled the forest floor, as the trees had thinned out to near nothing-ness. The trees grew fewer, and gradually disappeared entirely.

What the two were left with, was an open plains stretching on, and an open sky with a clear view of the mountains. The meadows in the middle of the forest continued until it reached a clear escarpment, making the place of higher altitude a clear vantage point for the surrounding forest, that was stretching as far into the distance as the surrounding mountains themselves.

The two stared at the breath-taking view for a while, the wind tugging in their hair - a sensation that kept them in touch with reality lest they lose themselves in the view.

"This.. Is the boundaries of our world." Naruto suddenly said, in a rare moment of clarity. Hinata raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic comment, but could do naught but agree. "Though.. Not forever.." Hinata replied, shifting her gaze to the world beyond the mountains. It was hardly visible from their relatively low altitude, but she could still imagine it. The people in small villages going through daily routines - an image of idyll.

"Do you want to go there someday?" Hinata whispered, worried thoughts clustering in the back of her mind, though she was curious as well.

"Yeah." The reply was instant and absolute, leaving no room for doubt. Hinata looked up from her eyes' spot on the ground, finding inspiration in that certainty. Those were ideals she admired, though she lacked them herself. She wanted to be able to portray that kind of confidence herself someday. Until then, the blonde was a person she could follow.

".. We'll definitely get through this." Hinata said with a bit of uncertainty, as much as she wanted to believe those words.

"Of course, 'ttebayo! Why wouldn't we?" the grinning reply was, ever the optimist.. Hinata nodded obediently, as she would rather not ruin the optimism with her own negative thoughts.

Their idle chatter was suddenly interrupted by a loud and terrifying roar. Hinata flinched, almost closing her eyes. Naruto shivered lightly, but scanned the area nonetheless. A second roar followed up on the first one, this one even more bone-chilling than the last. And it was louder. Hinata recovered from her momentary daze, and looked in the same direction as Naruto, just in time to see a large, menacing shadow approach...

* * *

To be continued~

Oh, and seriously. Try to do the Aard sign. It's impossible! Unless you have well-trained fingers, at least.

Also, review!


	3. Prologue III

**Prologue: Home of the Witchers III**

* * *

 _Their idle chatter was suddenly interrupted by a loud and terrifying roar. Hinata flinched, almost closing her eyes. Naruto shivered lightly, but scanned the area nonetheless. A second roar followed up on the first one, this one even more bone-chilling than the last. And it was louder. Hinata recovered from her momentary daze, and looked in the same direction as Naruto, just in time to see a large, menacing shadow approach..._

The shape grunted as it noticed the two in the clearing. Intelligent amber eyes brushed over them for a moment, before the huge shape charged into the clearing. Naruto's first thought was _Oh, crap, get away!_ while Hinata was frozen in place, regarding the creature, hectically thinking about what kind of monstrosity it could be.

Naruto jumped to the side, just as the creature was about to hit him. Hinata, who didn't react in time, was grazed by a burly shoulder, the sheer force of it throwing her to the side and making her land in the grass.

The large shape realized that it had missed both of its targets, and swiftly dug sturdy front legs into the ground, sliding a few metres before coming to a halt. It huffed once, barely even noticing how close it had been to flying over the edge, turning its head slowly. Naruto and Hinata held their breaths as the creature slowly turned it's massive body around to face them, Hinata digging through her memory to try and identify it. Naruto drew his silver sword with his right hand, crouching lightly to make it easier to roll to the side. A direct hit from the charge of such a monster was sure to leave lasting injuries.

Antlers and a partially furry body, with the height of five metres, and a mouth filled with menacing elongated teeth, was illuminated by the direct sunlight. The creature stood on four legs, the front ones having sharp claws, and the back ones having hooves. Three small, goat-like eyes glared at them, as the creature roared again, raising its head and shaking its long mane-like fur. It crouched to charge again, as Naruto prepared himself to dodge out of the way.

Just as it charged, Hinata got a glimpse of a lion-like tail. The cogs immediately fell into place.

"Naruto! It's a fiend!" she shouted, as said fiend hit its head against a large tree, the tree noticeably cracking and almost snapping in half. It lifted its head again to turn on the dark-haired person who had just made her presence known to it again. It growled, irritated, as it started to run towards her - not at charging speed like before, but rather like a slow run to enter melee range.

"A what-now?" Naruto shouted from the other end of the field. Hinata was about to answer, before she saw the three eyes looking down on her from above. "A-.. Uhh... Uh-oh.."

The beast seemed to grin, its yellowed and intelligent eyes narrowed. It lifted its right foot, swinging its paw horizontally at Hinata. As a hasty decision, Hinata jumped, narrowly avoiding the sharp claws. The beast hardly even flinched, as it lowered its head to gore Hinata. She made a quick hand-sign, yelling "Aard!". The air-wave hit the fiend's head right before its attack, though it only served to delay it a second, having hardly done anything to the massive body.

Hinata hastily jumped out of the way, to avoid being impaled by the large antlers. The creature was just about to continue its onslaught, as it noticed a stinging pain in its hind leg. As it turned slowly, its eyes fell upon a blonde boy with a silver sword in one hand, the tip of the blade being covered in the fiend's own blood.

Naruto smiled victoriously. The fiend narrowed its eyes, before they bolted open, the former confidence giving way to pure rage. Naruto's smile quickly faltered, as he suddenly panicked. Jumping backwards to avoid a slam, he looked towards Hinata for help. Having regained her breath, she yelled. "A fiend! Member of the Relict family!.. Uhh.. They're vulnerable to oil made with thistles, and dislike loud noises! The third eye is vulnerable to bright light!" she chanted, as Naruto dodged another swipe and an attempted headbutt.

"Not... Helping!.." Naruto growled in between attacks, as Hinata frantically tried to find a way to combatant the fiend.

 _Thistle? I wonder if thistles grow here. Though dog tallow is required for a well-functioning oil. I don't have any bombs to make loud noises, and where would I get bright light?_ Hinata contemplated, as Naruto barely dodged another swipe.

A light bulb suddenly went off in Naruto's head. "Hinata! Distract it!"

"H-hai!"

Hinata drew her silver sword, charging at the back of the unsuspecting fiend. Jumping right before impact, she thrust the sharp tool into the flank of the creature. It immediately took its attention off of Naruto as it noticed the pain in its flank, shaking its body like a rodeo bull while Hinata did all she could to remain steady.

Meanwhile, Naruto rummaged through his pack before pulling something out. A bundle of firecrackers. "Hinata! Get off!" he yelled. Hinata saw what he held in his hand, smiling lightly. She nimbly used her feet to push off, while drawing her sword out, landing in the grass a couple of metres away. The fiend turned towards Hinata, roaring angrily, as it observed something flying towards it from the right.

 _Katsu._

The firecrackers landed on the antlers of the beast before going off in a cacophony of bangs and crackles. The creature shook its head wildly, trying to get rid of the noisy things.

"Charge!" Naruto shouted, and the two Witcher's apprentices did so. The fiend barely noticed them, too preoccupied with the noisy things tangled to its antlers. Naruto and Hinata swiftly slashed at its sides. Several wounds quickly turned the light-grey coat of fur red. They moved towards the back, aiming for its back legs while staying out of range of the lethal antlers.

And then the firecrackers stopped.

It happened so quickly they hardly realised it until it was too late. Hinata barely managed to scream "Naruto!" before the blonde was hit by an antler and sent into a distant tree. A circular wound had appeared below his left collarbone. Though his organs had avoided damage, the wound bled heavily.

The fiend turned towards Hinata. Its wounds had already stopped bleeding. The scared girl walked backwards, having lost all courage and will to fight. The fiend stared at her with its amber eyes, as it walked closer. Hinata's gaze was drawn towards the penetrating eyes. Until she realised she couldn't look away. All too late, she remembered about a fiend's trump card. Its incapacitating magical stare.

Despairingly, she fell to her knees, her eyes still locked on to the middle eye of the creature. It slowly walked towards her, seemingly enjoying the moment. _I.. Can't do anything.. Is this the end?_

Something hit the creature in the side, though Hinata was still stuck in the illusion. Naruto got a glimpse of something white, though it could be due to the blood-loss. The fiend cried out, as it was met with a new opponent. The two apprentices heard several loud bangs go off in quick succession, as the fiend was pushed back. The ground crumbled below it, as it neared the edge of the cliff.

Hatake Kakashi waved goodbye to the fiend as it plunged into the forest below.

* * *

 **Author's Note (important):** This chapter was slightly shorter than the two others. I would've given the prologue a "proper" finish, but in the end, I decided it was better to put this out there than spend another month or so finding time writing the last bit. While this is called a prologue, I suppose it's more like a tech demo. I do have other stuff planned for this story, but as it is, I simply lack the motivation. If enough people (or anyone, really) shows enough interest, I might resume this. But as it is, I'll leave it for now. Thank you to the people who have read this though! I hope you found it somewhat amusing, and if nothing else, enough to keep the boredom at bay for a while.

Thank you~


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